The Romano-British Villa at Castle Copse, Great Bedwyn

The Romano-British Villa at Castle Copse, Great Bedwyn
Author: E. P. Allison
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 592
Release: 1997
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9780253328021

These efforts have shed light not only on the history of the villa itself, but also on the shifting focus of power over the course of a millennium at the sites associated with Castle Copse in the immediate region - the Iron Age hillfort of Chisbury, a post-Roman settlement, and a Saxon village destined to become an urban center.

The Fields of Britannia

The Fields of Britannia
Author: Stephen Rippon
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 472
Release: 2015
Genre: Art
ISBN: 0199645825

It has long been recognized that the landscape of Britain is one of the 'richest historical records we possess', but just how old is it? The Fields of Britannia is the first book to explore how far the countryside of Roman Britain has survived in use through to the present day, shaping the character of our modern countryside. Commencing with a discussion of the differing views of what happened to the landscape at the end of Roman Britain, the volume then brings together the results from hundreds of archaeological excavations and palaeoenvironmental investigations in order to map patterns of land-use across Roman and early medieval Britain. In compiling such extensive data, the volume is able to reconstruct regional variations in Romano-British and early medieval land-use using pollen, animal bones, and charred cereal grains to demonstrate that agricultural regimes varied considerably and were heavily influenced by underlying geology. We are shown that, in the fifth and sixth centuries, there was a shift away from intensive farming but very few areas of the landscape were abandoned completely. What is revealed is a surprising degree of continuity: the Roman Empire may have collapsed, but British farmers carried on regardless, and the result is that now, across large parts of Britain, many of these Roman field systems are still in use.

Roman Mosaics of Britain: South-West Britain

Roman Mosaics of Britain: South-West Britain
Author: David S. Neal
Publisher: Society of Antiquaries of London
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2002
Genre: Crafts & Hobbies
ISBN:

Roman Mosaics of Britain is the culmination of more than seventy years of combined research and meticulous draughtsmanship by the authors, who are both in the forefront of mosaic scholarship. Their work, to be published in four volumes, is a complete illustrated catalogue of every known Romano-British mosaic - nearly 2000 in all - of which almost 450 feature in Volume II. Presented in the form of a county gazetteer, each mosaic is described, with drawings, photographs of figured elements and references. In many cases, the entry is illustrated by one of the authors' detailed paintings, which are faithful to the colour and composition of each mosaic. This volume contains some of the finest Romano-British mosaics ever uncovered. The South West has Britain's greatest concentration of figured mosaics, including, at Hinton St Mary, one of the earliest depictions of Christ. Several pavements illustrate scenes from Virgil's Aeneid or Ovid's Metamorphosis . As well as the organisation of the craft, the history of mosaic discoveries, building types, room function, figured work and schemes are considered. Each county has its own detailed introduction.

Beyond the Burghal Hidage

Beyond the Burghal Hidage
Author: John Baker
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 498
Release: 2013-03-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 9004246053

As the title suggests, Beyond the Burghal Hidage takes the study of Anglo-Saxon civil defence away from traditional historical and archaeological fields, and uses a groundbreaking interdisciplinary approach to examine warfare and public responses to organised violence through their impact on the landscape. By bringing together the evidence from a wide range of archaeological, onomastic and historical sources, the authors are able to reconstruct complex strategic and military landscapes, and to show how important detailed knowledge of early medieval infrastructure and communications is to our understanding of Anglo-Saxon preparedness for war, and to the situating of major defensive works within their wider strategic context. The result is a significant and far-reaching re-evaluation of the evolution of late Anglo-Saxon defensive arrangements. Winner of the 2013 Verbruggen prize, given annually by De Re Militari society for the best book on medieval military history.